Inmates at juvenile detention center learn while tending a garden

Thursday

Apr 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Behind the metal doors and razor wire fences that surround the Tuscaloosa Juvenile Detention Facility sits an unexpected patch of earth. Muscadine vines and rosebushes soon will crawl up the walls that surround the teenagers inside, all of whom face criminal charges. The garden program at the center is sponsored by the Druid City Garden Project.

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Behind the metal doors and razor wire fences that surround the Tuscaloosa Juvenile Detention Facility sits an unexpected patch of earth.Shoots of bok choy, kohlrabi and oregano are beginning to peek out of raised beds made from concrete blocks. Muscadine vines and rosebushes soon will crawl up the walls that surround the teenagers inside, all of whom face criminal charges.One of assistant director Cathy Wood’s favorite features of the garden is a bench, created in a welding class by some of the inmates. A message carefully painted on the side reads, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”Hidden inside the painted vines that surround the script are the initials of one of the inmates who made the bench.“I love that,” she said. “I love that he was able to do something, and feel that pride and ownership.”The garden program at the center is sponsored by the Druid City Garden Project and has been enthusiastically received by the teenagers being held at the center, Wood said. “You have a roof over your head 24/7,” said “R.”, a 16-year-old inmate. “The first time I got out there, I felt a little bit of freedom.”The inmates are looking forward to having the vegetables incorporated into their menus, he said. Joseph Wright has been teaching the kids at the detention center for several months. He said the students have learned not just how to put plants in the ground, but also about soil science, propagation from seeds and existing plants, garden design and calculating how much soil and water are needed. “We’re trying to incorporate knowledge about the science as well. They love being out here and taking part in this,” he said, adding that some inmates said they want to return to check out the garden’s progress after they’re released.R. said that the hands-on experience of crafting an irrigation system and planning the garden has made science lessons easier to understand.“I can’t wait to have more classes out here,” he said. “My grandparents grow things like greens and watermelons. I may be able to help them when I get out.”Some inmates made mosaic garden tiles and others crafted bird feeders that hang on the wall. Wood said that the facility soon will add a couple of chickens and goats. Eggs from the chickens will be used for omelets on Thursday mornings, she said, and the goats will graze in the grass between the double-security fences.“We want to teach them how all of that can be integrated into the care of the garden,” she said.The kids are also learning about organic farming. They’ve fertilized their vegetables with compost piles delivered by the Birmingham Zoo, made with waste produced by only plant-eating animals.“J.”, also 16, said the garden has given him and his fellow inmates something to focus on.“It helps keep your mind off of everything,” he said. “It’s peaceful, and I think it helps keep the peace.”Wood said that disciplinary incidents at the facility have decreased since the kids have been working in the garden.“They’ve gone way down,” she said. “There’s a positive feeling surrounding this. It’s amazing what dirt can do.”Detention facility staff and members of the Druid City Garden Project showed the garden to visitors from Arkansas on Wednesday afternoon. The Druid City Garden Project is a nonprofit school garden education program that started through its first school garden at University Place Elementary in March 2010. The program plans to add gardens at Tuscaloosa Magnet School and Woodland Forrest Elementary this year to help teach children about growing food and help them be more aware about the food they eat.Lindsay Turner, the garden Project director, said that the group will soon develop tools that can show how the program affects participants.Josalyn Randall works with the students at Stillman Heights Elementary, who tended the garden at University Place before it was damaged by the April 27, 2011, tornado.The students have been growing vegetables at their new school. Randall said that most of the students will at least taste an unfamiliar vegetable if they had a hand in growing it. The students have a stand and sell the vegetables to their families once a week. J., who painted his initials on the bench, said that he has enjoyed sampling the vegetables that are beginning to sprout. “It’s not bad, for a leaf,” he said of trying bok choy. “I want to try the sugar snap peas. When I leave here, I want to grow all different types of roses.”The side of another bench reads, “You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds, but the choice is yours.”“I hope that a lot of these tools we’re using lead to them getting out of here and succeeding,” Wood said. “We give them everything we’ve got.”